Howard Smith Hartley, of Fairport NY, passed away suddenly on January 16th 2024 at the age of 82.
He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1941 to Howard Leslie Hartley and Drucilla Anita Hartley. His love of cars came from his Dad who owned and operated a car dealership (Smith Motors) in Lowell and afforded him access to several nice cars in his earlier years. Howard enjoyed many summers on Little Sebago Lake in Maine boating and water skiing as well as time with his many cousins and extended family. He attended Lowell High School before studying Chemical Engineering at Lowell Technological Institute eventually going to work at Pfaudler, Inc in Rochester NY where he would finish his career as manager for engineered systems.
Howard married his wife of 59 years, Irene Margaret Shanahan in 1964 wooing her in a convertible Jaguar (thanks to his Dad). They moved from Lowell to Buffalo, NY to start their lives together. After 2 years in Buffalo they would make their way to Rochester, NY in 1966 welcoming sons Jamie in 1966 and Jonathan in 1973. Howard enjoyed working around the house, golfing, spending time with many close friends, vacations with family and attending all his sons various sports and music events over the years. He was blessed with three (3) grandchildren and treasured his time with them including trips to Florida, NYC and Texas. Gatherings in Rochester included time spent with his loving extended in-law family who together celebrated many holidays, birthdays, special events as well as vacations to the 1000 islands and Florida. The last several years were spent battling Parkinsons which while difficult also brought new friends that were part of his Parkinson’s support group.
Howard will always be remembered by his family for his tenacious spirit in tackling challenges, his planning and preparedness for all endeavors, enjoyment of cars, ice cream, golf, sports and time spent with extended family and friends. He was witty and always thoughtful in remembering special events and blessing his family with generous and thoughtful gifts. Howard was preceded in death by his parents, Howard Leslie Hartley and Drucilla Anita Hartley, and is survived and greatly missed by his loving wife Irene Hartley, sons Jamie Hartley (significant other Cindy Yin) and Jonathan Hartley, daughter-in-law Diane Hartley (Jonathan) along with grandchildren Shane, Nathaniel and Elliana. The family wishes to recognize the love and support of his extended in-law family in Rochester which includes Doug and Wendy Smith, Doug and Ali Smith, David and Elyssa (Barszewski) Smith and Gavin Smith.
Howard’s celebration of life service will be held on Saturday January 27th at 11AM at the All Seasons Chapel located at White Haven Memorial Park (210 Marsh Road, Pittsford NY) with a catered reception immediately following at the Chapel. In lieu of flowers please consider donations to Lifespan.
Comments
17 responses to “Hartley, Howard S.”
Our condolences Irene to you and your family. Howard was a great mentor and wonderful friend. We have many great memories of times we spent with you and Howard.
Love Todd & Kathy Pollack
My sincere condolences to your family. I knew Howard from exercising together first at Brighton High School, and later at Apex Athletic Club in Penfield. He was the nicest man and had a great sense of humor. We were always in awe of the incredible amount of weight that he could lift. He was quick to smile, and always had a kind word. Although I haven’t seen him since the pandemic, I have often wondered how he was. R.I.P., Howard.
We are so sorry to hear about your loss. Howard was a wonderful person and we will always remember him fondly as Mike’s work colleague and as a friend to both of us.
Love, Mike and Ellen Powers
Dan and I are heartbroken to hear of Howard’s passing. I met Howard through the years that Irene and I volunteered at Lifespan and we became good friends. Howard was a kind, gentle man and what a beautiful couple they were. We are soo sorry. Love, Dan and Phyllis Naugle
My prayers for you, Irene, and all of your family . He was a fine man, and will be remembered by all who knew him.
Howard was a wonderful person. We have many sweet memories of golf and happy hours together in Florida. It was an honor to get to know Howard and Irene. May God rest Howard’s soul and bring peace to Irene and the entire family…
So sorry to hear about Howard’s passing. Ro and I send our deepest condolences. Hope you are doing well. Bill and Rosalie Morabito
Howard was one of the many good people at Pfaudler that helped me with my career there. Always offering helpful advice when asked to. He was a good, kind man and I’m fortunate to have known him. My condolences to his family.
Our deepest sympathy to Irene and the extended family. Herb and I have very fond memories of our Times at Pi Lam and Buffalo and our reunion in Florida. Howard was a treasure. May his blessing be for a memory.
Herb and Ruth Zaritsky
We are so sorry to hear about Howard’s passing. We have many fond memories of our times at Pi Lam, Buffalo and our reunion in Florida.
May Howard’s memory be for a blessing.
Oh my God I am heartbroken to hear this terrible news. I have known Howie and Irene for 45 years starting in 1968 in North Chili. We spoke before the holidays. Kay and I offer our sincerest.sympathies to the entire Hartley family. May he rest in peace and may God have mercy on his soul. John & Kay Baron
My sincere condolences to the family. I have so many fond memories of all the times our families spent together. He was a wonderful person. I am certain he blessed all who knew him.
Irene, our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family at this difficult time. Howard was a great boss and a kind person. I know he will be
missed.
We will really miss our wonderful friend, Howard. Our hearts go out to Irene and family during this painful time.
With love and prayers,
Anne and Dale.
My sincere condolences to the Hartley family during this difficult time.
Our paths passed many years ago at Pi Lamb. We had one year overlap at the fraternity and then went our separate ways. However, we did see each other at a few Pi Lamb reunions. It was many years later after we moved to Rochester that Irene recognized Andrea when she came into Calico Corners. It became another Pi Lamb reunion and from that point on we shared many hours with Howard and Irene in Rochester and in Florida. Howard was always a delight to be around. For ourselves and Howard’s family: his memory will be a delightful blessing.
Howard and I both started at Pfaudler back in the mid-1960’s. It was always a pleasure working with him as he was always willing to help fellow engineers. In fact, he also helped me, outside work, with some of my major home improvement projects.
On January 9th, Annette and I had the pleasure of having an enjoyable lunch with Howard and Irene at one of their favorite restaurants. Though he was struggling with Parkinson, Howard was upbeat. In fact, we both texted afterwards looking forward to a future lunch get together in the Spring. We will always treasure that time that we spent together with Howard and Irene.
Our sincere condolences to Irene and the Hartley family.
Tony & Annette Bellavia